What are US Airways biatching about? "Life" will only be until the next time they crash a plane after a bird strike with a pilot that isn't as good as "Sully". They'll only have to upgrade them once, twice at most.

I can understand the passengers side of the story, but this reminds me of the old joke where a lady complains to the waiter that the food is horrible and she won't eat it. When asked if there is anything else wrong, she replies, "Yes, the portions are too small!"

If the flight was such a horrible ordeal, why complain that you want a lifetime of "luxury" flights that will only serve to remind you of said ordeal?

Seriously.. if any one of you involved in the crash are reading this and think that US Airways should be providing any benefits to you - think of this:

They already provided you with a pilot who is arguably one of the safest and coolest-headed pilots in the industry. One that gave you your miserable life back after a completely random incident happened that would have taken it had there been a lesser pilot in the left seat.

These people don't deserve anything aside from having their luggage replaced, unless of course the NTSA somehow finds US Airways at fault. As near as I can tell the plane was roperly maintained right up until some geese got sucked through the engines and the flight crew was damn good.

Airplanes are pressurized metal tubes in the sky, sometimes nature picks one off.

Your average person gets a few weeks vacation a year, at a time when their work lets them, which is often spent keeping an eye on their kids or doing home tasks. How often do most people fly anywhere? Offering a year of free first class is, for most people, one or two flights at the most. That barely covers the value of the luggage they lost.

FTA"You're going to crash me into the water, and you're going to tell me all I get is an upgrade?" asked Antonio Sales, 20, who was traveling with the University of South Carolina's track team. "That's more of an 'OK, you're not dead, I'll give you something to hold on to.' It's not enough at all."

dreadlocksFTW:FTA"You're going to crash me into the water, and you're going to tell me all I get is an upgrade?" asked Antonio Sales, 20, who was traveling with the University of South Carolina's track team. "That's more of an 'OK, you're not dead, I'll give you something to hold on to.' It's not enough at all."

I feel a hate crime coming on.

I bet USC has one of those searchable student and staff directories like most schools do.

No Such Agency:Your average person gets a few weeks vacation a year, at a time when their work lets them, which is often spent keeping an eye on their kids or doing home tasks. How often do most people fly anywhere? Offering a year of free first class is, for most people, one or two flights at the most. That barely covers the value of the luggage they lost.

They already paid for the luggage they lost, so who cares? They didn't have to do anything. These people are sandy vagina little biatches, should get over themselves, and should stop being upset that Sully is getting the praise and they aren't be lauded as "heroes" for escaping.

All the passengers did is not die because of the skill of the pilot. They want to be rewarded for that? I think that they're getting a pretty good deal for ballast, which is what they were during the whole thing.

I love America. No where else gives me quiet the same sense of moral and intellectual superiority.

FTA: "You're going to crash me into the water, and you're going to tell me all I get is an upgrade?" asked Antonio Sales, 20, who was traveling with the University of South Carolina's track team. "That's more of an 'OK, you're not dead, I'll give you something to hold on to.' It's not enough at all."

Teammate Gabrielle Glenn, 20, was more blunt: "That's it. They should sue."

For FSM's sake, it was a freak accident that both engines got hit at the same time, and the airline upheld their end of the bargain by getting them all safely off of the plane. Why should they get sue-happy now? If the engine failure was due to poor maintenance, then I could see their point. But you can't sue an airline for a freak coincidence of nature, during which you received nothing more than a good scare.

It makes me stabby if I spend too much time thinking about how litigious our society has become.

A double engine failure is extremely rare, and it's not been proven yet that there wasn't more to this crash than geese. While the passengers should be grateful to have survived, and I think 5k + lost stuff + a year of upgrades is plenty, I do think the idea that they are horrible people for asking for more is a bit silly.

They did suffer a plane crash. If the airline wants to get publicity out of these people, then it's only fair to negotiate for it.

ha-ha-guy:These people don't deserve anything aside from having their luggage replaced, unless of course the NTSA somehow finds US Airways at fault. As near as I can tell the plane was roperly maintained right up until some geese got sucked through the engines and the flight crew was damn good.

They dont even deserve that. That's what flight insurance is for. Its optional for a reason. If something happens beyond their control then flight insurance picks it up.

I can promise you one thing that will come out of this if compensation gets out of hand: Airlines will be forced to consider the costs of crashes where passengers survive. And trust me.. you don't want some dispassionate pencil pushing corporate geek taking a calculator to the value of your saved life vs the value of your taken life.

I would consider having a pilot that was skilled enough to not kill you or immediately sink the plane thus saving your life to be a perk. Looking at the options of a horrible crash, drowning trapped in a plane filling with water or being forced into freezing water I think they got really lucky.

Replace their luggage, compensate them for the original flight ticket and move on. This wasn't negligence it was just fate.

Here's what I want (and, if I get it, I PROMISE I won't sue): I want a meal. Just one. I don't fly for the food, and an airplane is a lousy restaurant (except for Virgin... hmmmm.... where was I? Oh...) but when I am traveling for business, I usually try to pack as much as I can into my day and maybe the ONLY time I get to grab a quick bite is on the way home. I also want you to explain to the guy behind me that my seat-back is immediately adjacent to my person and that it is NOT a catapult (or at least, not a very good one). Provide ether for the crying kids, and just 1 or 2 more inches of leg room - especially US Airways, which is the WORST. Actually, I was truly surprised at how quickly everyone got off of that aircraft. When I fly US Airways (and I actually flew them that same day - from Columbus to LGA), it takes me longer to get my knees out of the seat in front of me (apologies to that guy, by the way).

End of pseudo-rant.

But a big "THIS" for both labman and me texan, above. I would thanks that pilot, have drink and be thrilled with my own personal chunk of kharma.

z_gringo: I think US Airways was just trying to get some free good publicity with this. It probably would have been better for them to do nothing instead of this upgrade for a year thing.

If that were the case they would have paraded him up with the company executives much like the mayor of NYC did when he held his circle jerk of "heroes" that saved people on the river. They've left him alone and his first interview STILL isnt for days. US Airways is being a stand up company here. The passengers are the ones taking advantage of the situation.

dreadlocksFTW:As for who was responsible for them surviving (which is the pilot, and thus US Air), I think they have the right to say 'thank you', and then STFU.

Um, actually God was the one who saved them, duh. And because God saved them, he obviously thinks they are first-class people. You watch, God will get them their first-class upgrades for life, just you watch.